Life After Kiss
by Mistyrivers
Summary: Luke and Lorelai. Postseason finale
1. Default Chapter

Life After Kiss

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's note: This is my first story so any feedback would be appreciated

Lorelai ran into the inn, hoping she could get to her room without running into anyone. This night had been totally crazy. Her inn had finally opened. It should have been the greatness night of her life. But things were just nuts. First, Jason showed up in the middle of everything, then the drama with her parents, and then . . . Luke. God, Luke had kissed her. And she kissed him back. She smiled just thinking of the kiss. But then Kirk ran by naked and Luke followed. She went to tell Rory, and … Rory, her baby girl. She had slept with a married man. She was-- "Whoa!" She bumped into someone. "Luke!"

"Lorelai, hi. Is something wrong? You look upset"

"I- I'm fine. I just- I need to be alone right now."

"But-" Lorelai wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you in the morning. Good night." She went to her room and shut the door.

"Night, Lorelai." Luke leaned against the door, looking confused. "That was odd."

Lorelai woke up early the next morning. She wanted every little detail to be perfect. She checked on things and they seemed to be running smoothly. Now all she needed was--

"Coffee?" Luke smiled and handed her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks!" Lorelai grinned. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I had to get up. I run a diner, remember?"  
  
"Right." The two of them stared at each other until Lorelai began to feel uneasy.

"Uh, I'd better go. You know me, busy, busy, busy."

"Wait a second. We need to talk."

"I know. We will, I promise. Later." She started to walk away.

"Lorelai-"

"See ya, Luke." She left the room.

"See ya," he said softly. "This can't be good." He sighed and walked out of the inn.

Luke wiped the counter during a slow time at the diner. Lorelai was running so hot and cold on him. She was flipping out. He could tell. Any minute now, she was going to run away. And he would end up heartbroken. "It's not going to happen," he mumbled to himself. He wasn't going to let her go, he needed her. He went to his kitchen to get the supplies that he'd need.

Lorelai walked into the kitchen, looking around. "It's going good, Sookie, really great."

"Yeah, we're really doing it, huh?" Sookie smiled.

"Yeah, we are."

"Are you okay? You seem, I don't know, distracted." Sookie walked over and placed her hand on Lorelai's shoulder.

"I'm fine, really."

"Are you sure? Because-" Sookie was interrupted by Michel walking into the room.

"Lorelai, there's someone here to see you." Lorelai sighed with relief.

"Okay, who is it?" Michel rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. I'm not your secretary, why don't you find out yourself?" He walks out of the room.

"I guess I'd better go see what's going on," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

"Good luck." Lorelai walked to the inn's front desk, glancing around the room.

"Lorelai." She looked up and saw Luke standing in front of her with a picnic basket.

"Hi," she said, knowing she had a smile on her face that wouldn't go away. "What's with the basket?"

"Well, I knew you had to eat and I had some of this in the diner and I thought that I'd see if you wanted to eat with me." Luke smiled nervously, shifting from one foot to the other.

"It's not rabbit food, is it? I don't eat that, you know." Luke rolled his eyes.

"No kidding. You've only been coming into the diner ten years." He lifted the basket onto the desk. "See for yourself." She opened the basket.

"Wow! Real food." She grinned at him.

"Yeah, so you want to go and eat lunch."

"Well, I'd like to, but I'm so busy. I don't think-"

"You need to eat."

"I'll just eat a sandwich; I don't really have time-"

"Lorelai, why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not- I just- I'm busy." She walked away from him.

"Lorelai, wait. I need-" He sighed. "Dammit, this is horrible. I screwed up. AH!" He walked back the diner with his head hanging.

Lorelai watched Luke as he walked away. "You really screwed it up this time. Why didn't you just say, 'Yes, Luke, I'd love to have lunch with you,' or 'Last night was nice' or 'I'd really like to test out the springs on one of these brand new beds with you.' Oh, God, you blew it, Gilmore." She exhaled deeply and wiped her tears, preparing herself for another round of complaints from Taylor.

Luke walked into the inn sometime after dinner, more determined than he had ever been. He wasn't giving up this time. He and Lorelai were going to talk; they were going to settle this. And if she didn't want to be with him, at least he would know that he had tried and that it wasn't meant to be. And then, he was going to get the biggest bottle of liquor he could find and drink himself into oblivion.

Lorelai walked into a hallway of the inn and leaned against a wall. She thought about what she had done to Luke. She hadn't meant to hurt him; she was just so stressed out and confused. All she wanted to do was curl up into Luke's arms and have him make everything all better. "Now, I sound like a 12 year old." There was just too much going on in her life. Rory, the inn, her parents. She knew that she wasn't in a good place for this thing with Luke and that she should end it, but every time she saw him she just wanted to run. She couldn't bear to tell him that. She heard footsteps and looked up to see Luke. "Hi, Luke. I can't talk right now."

"I'm sorry, but we have to talk now, Lorelai. " Luke said, grabbing her wrist.

"Luke, there's people-" He shook his head.

"I don't care. I have to talk to you now." She sighed.

"Come on, follow me. We can talk in my office." They walked into the room and he shut the door. "So, you want to talk?"

"Well, uh-"

"Luke, I really don't have a lot of time." He took a deep breath.

"Lorelai, you- you're running away. We need to talk this out."

"I know- I don't mean-"

"Look, you're running hot and cold on me and I can't take it anymore. I have to know. If you don't want me, fine. I can deal with that, but I can't deal with not knowing."

"Luke-" He shook his head, and went into full scale rant mode.

"No, you're going to listen to me. Last night, I though that you I understood that I want to be with you-"

"I did-" He paced around the room and continued as if she hadn't spoken.

"But this morning, you're avoiding me. It's awkward between us; I know you can feel it. I just want to know, what do you want?" He stopped and looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"What is it that you want? Do you want to friends or more or what? What do you want, Lorelai?" She stared at him for minute and burst into tears.

"Oh, God, Luke. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you." He wrapped his arms around her and she cried into his chest.

"Hey, it's all right. What's the matter?" He patted her back.

"I don't even know what to say."

"So whatever you want. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to pressure you." Lorelai glanced up at him.

"It's not-"

"It's all right. I know you usually cut and run when things get tough."

"That's not what this is about." Luke raised his eyebrows. "Okay, maybe it is a little bit." She wiped her eyes and began walking around the room. "I don't want to screw this up. You're a good guy, Luke, and I'm scared I'm going to screw this up, but that's not why I've been acting so strange."

"What is it?"

"This isn't really my secret to tell, but I know you won't say anything." She glanced away from him. "Okay, um, last night, after we kissed and you went chasing after Kirk, well, I went home to get the camera and. Well, Rory and Dean- they were in Rory's room and well- they had- they were-" She looked at him as understanding came over him.

"They slept together?" Lorelai nodded. "I see. Well, how should I kill Dean, dull hedge clippers, or will a gun be good enough?"

"You're not going to-" Luke shook his head.

"I won't." He let out a breath. "Wow, this is serious. I see now why you've been preoccupied. I'm sorry I was chasing you around."

"You had no idea. But it wasn't just Rory; it was the inn, my parents. It's like everything's snowballing. I don't know what to do. Rory wanted to spend today alone, to sort things out by herself. My parents are having more trouble than I thought. The inn is the only thing that is running smoothly, but I don't think that's going to last. Do you see why I'm scared to enter into a relationship with you?"

"I get it, but I want to be there for you, if you'll let me."

"You do realize I'm a total mess, right?" He smiled.

"I know, but I like you anyway." She smiled back and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh, I don't think I'm going to be able to resist you." He pulled back slightly.

"That's good." He pulled her completely into his arms and kissed her, slowly and provocatively.

"We have to go slowly," she whispered against his lips. "I don't want to screw this up."

"Right, slow, "he said, continuing to kiss her.

"I'm serious," she pulled back. "Come on." She pulled him to the chair in her office and sat on his lap. "Can ask you something?"

"Sure, anything you want."

"Why'd you chase after naked Kirk?" He sighed.

"I should've known you'd get around to that." She giggled.

"Well why'd you do it? Do you and Kirk have some secret that Lulu and I should know about?"

Author's note: This is a one part story, but I've got some ideas to continue it if anyone is interested.


	2. Two

Author's note: I upped the rating on this chapter. I really don't think it's too racy, but better safe than sorry.

Part 2

Lorelai went back home to check on Rory. As she entered her house, she thought about her time with Luke and smiled. After their discussion, they had sat in her office, kissing and talking. Well, mostly kissing. It was strange, but things were not awkward at all with Luke. It was almost like they had been together for a long time.

Lorelai glanced in the living room and found Rory asleep on the couch, surrounded by junk food. "At least she finally learned to wallow." She walked over to her daughter and placed a kiss on her forehead. Rory's eyes fluttered open.

"Mom?" She asked sleepily. Lorelai smiled.

"Hey, babe. How you doing?"

"Okay, considering. How's the inn?"  
  
"Great, it's going great." She hesitated before continuing. "Do you want to talk?"

"No, no. I- I just don't want to talk about last night right now."

"Sure, whatever you want." Lorelai gave Rory a quick hug.

"Let's not talk about me. How are things going with you?"

"Well, I told you, the inn's great, although it's just the test run, you know?"

"I'm not asking about the inn, I'm asking about you." Lorelai glanced away.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem happy. And not the inn's doing well happy. You seem, I don't know. I got lucky happy."

"What? I didn't get lucky. Jason and I broke up, remember?" Rory grinned.

"Well, what about Luke? And don't try to say nothing. I saw you last night staring at each other like idiots."

"You know I can't lie to you."

"You and Luke?

"Me and Luke. It's really good. He wants to be with me." Rory rolled her eyes.

"Of course he wants to be with you, Mom. Hello."

"Yeah, well. I've even freaked out on him and he still wants me."

"Why'd you freak on him?"

"I guess- I don't know. It's just the stress of everything in my life."

"You mean me and Dean?"

"Yeah, that played a big part."

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"I know. But happy thoughts, okay? Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure about this, Mom? Like I said before, if this doesn't work-"

"I can't say 'Yes, this is definitely going to work.' Life doesn't work like that. But I can say that I want it to work. I want to be with him, Rory."

"Okay, I can tell you're serious. You and Luke, wow."

"Yeah, wow." Lorelai smiled

"Okay, you're getting nauseating."

"Sorry," Lorelai said as her cell phone rang. "Just a second. Hello."

"Hi, Lorelai."

"Oh, hi, Luke," she said, her voice growing softer.

"Oh, God," Rory groaned from her place on the couch.

"What was that?" Luke asked.

"Oh, it was just Rory."

"Oh. How is she doing?"

"All right, I guess."

"Well, good. Um, you're probably wondering why I called."

"Not really, I just assumed it was to hear my lovely voice."

"No, not this time. I wanted to see if you wanted to possibly spend some time with me tonight."

"I would, but I don't know that I've got enough time, you know? It's the last night of the test run."

"I know. I thought that after the guests went to bed, you could come over to my place and we could watch some movies."

"Okay. Sure. That would be nice. Are you going to feed me too?" Luke laughed.

"Yes, there will be food."

"Not healthy-"

"Nothing that isn't likely to kill you."

"Terrific, I'll see you tonight."

"Good-bye." Lorelai hung up the phone.

"So, what was that about?" Rory asked.

"I'm going over to Luke's tonight." Rory raised her eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we're going to watch some movies. Unless you need me to stay here."

"No, I'm still not ready to talk yet. Besides, I'd hate to wreck that love struck look on your face."

"Ha Ha."

Lorelai walked into the diner late that evening. "Luke," she called. "Are you here?"

He came out from the kitchen. "Hi. You can go upstairs and get settled. I'm almost done here."

"Okay." Lorelai ran up the stairs and sat down on Luke's couch, looking at the movies that he had chosen. "Nice taste, Luke."

"Thanks." He grinned as he walked into the room.

"So, what food do you have?"

"Burgers and chili fries."

"My hero," she said, fluttering her eyes. He sat down next to her.

"Real cute."

"Thanks. Are you going to eat this stuff?"

"Of course not. I made myself a turkey burger."

"Right. Do you want to eat while we watch the movies or eat and then watch the movies?"  
  
"Let's eat first so we can talk."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Anything. Everything." Lorelai smiled.

"Okay, anything, huh? Well-"

"Let me start. How's Rory?" Lorelai said.

"You know, I really don't know. She's not talking a lot. I understand it, but I'm really worried about her."

"I know you are, but she's a big girl."

"Clearly."

"Right. She's just got a lot of guilt."

"I know. I wish I could make it better for her."

"You can't. She screwed up. She has to make sense of this herself."

"I know that, Luke." She moves away from him.

"Lorelai, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Please, you're mad at me. I can tell."

"It seems like you're disappointed with Rory."

"What? No, that's not what I meant. Lorelai, she just-"

"Look, she's my daughter and I'm disappointed in her, but I don't want anyone else."

"You're overreacting."

"No, I'm not. I'm gonna go."

"Lorelai, stop. We need to talk about this."

"No, we don't. Rory's my daughter. She means everything to me. If you can't understand that-"

"I do understand. I didn't mean anything-"

"I have to get out of here."

"Lorelai, it's raining. You can't leave. You'll get drenched."

"I don't care. Good-bye."

Luke watched as Lorelai left the room and he pounded down the stairs after her, grabbing her arm as she walked out into the pouring rain.

"Leave me alone. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lorelai asked, yanking her arm away.

"No, I'm not letting you do this. You aren't going to run away.

"I'm not running away. We had an argument and now I want to get as far away from you as possible."

"You are running away. Look, we fought. Every couple fights. That doesn't mean that we are right for each other." Lorelai pushed the wet hair off of her face and tugged at her wet clothes.

"I don't want to fight with you right now, okay? I'm tired and stressed and it's pouring rain and we are soaking wet. I just want to go home." She started to walk away and he blocked her path. "Move, Luke."

"No, we are going to settle this now. I thought we'd settle already, but clearly we haven't. I have to know. I have to know now." She sighed.

"Know what?"

"Are you fighting with me because you're scared and you need an excuse to run away?"

"Luke-"

"No, I have to know. Do you want this? I can take it if you don't. I'm not kid, but … you can't leave me hanging. Do you want to be with me?" He stared straight into her eyes as he waited for the answer.

Luke waited for what seemed like forever for Lorelai to answer him. When she instead just continued to stare at him, he turned to leave.

"Luke, no." She grabbed his hand and turned him so that he was facing her. "I do." He stared at her in confusion.

"What?" She touched his face.

"I want you, Luke. I do. I just- I'm sorry I keep doing this, Luke. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know I want you. I want to be with you." Luke's eyes lit up and Lorelai smiled at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. The rain pounded down on them, but they were oblivious to everything except lips on lips, hands roaming, and bodies pressed to together.

Luke pulled back slightly, leaning his forehead against hers. "So no more running?"

"No more running."

"Good. All couples fight and I know that scares you. It scares me too. But we can make this work if we work with each other. Talk to each other. Promise me we'll always talk things out."

"I promise. Always." He kissed her again, running his hands through her tangled, wet hair. "It's raining." She laughed, kissing his forehead.

"You just noticed this? Where have you been?"

"I was trying to stop you from leaving. Excuse me for failing to notice the rain. Now, come on. Let's get inside before we become fish." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the diner and up to his apartment.

"Let me get you a towel," Luke said as they walked into his apartment. She nodded and he went quickly into his bathroom and came out with towel.

"Thank you," she said, wiping her face off.

"No problem." He smiled at her. "You're beautiful," he said before he could stop himself.

"I'm soaked to the bone. I really doubt 'beautiful' is really the right word for what I look like."

"You're gorgeous, Lorelai. I meant it. You-" She cut him off by kissing him hard on the mouth. He started to pull back in surprise, but she kept their bodies pressed together. His hands strayed all over her body, pulling at her wet clothing. He pushed her over to his bed, lying on top of her. As she began to unbutton his drenched flannel shirt, he looked at her face. "Are you sure?" Lorelai nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She pulled him back to her and as the rain pounded on the windows, they made love for the very first time.


	3. Three

Part 3

Luke lied on his back, smiling down at Lorelai sleeping on his chest. He took a hand and brushed the still slightly wet hair from her face. God, she was perfect. She was beautiful and smart and sexy. She was way too good for him, and yet … Something unbelievable had just happened. It was to too good to be true, but it was true. He'd just made love to her. He had made love to Lorelai Gilmore. He was the luckiest man on the face of the planet. He tightened his arms around her and fell into a very contented sleep.

Lorelai awoke the very early the next morning to find herself wrapped in Luke's arms. She grinned, hearing Luke's heartbeat. It was the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard. Everything had happened quicker than she had ever intended, but it was right. Being with Luke was right. Kissing Luke was right. Making love to Luke was right. She hadn't ever felt like this before and it scared her a little, but she knew she could handle it. Luke was going to stay with her. He wasn't going to run, so she didn't have to run first. She finally had someone she could count on and she wasn't ever going to let him go.

Luke shifted underneath Lorelai. "Hi, Luke." Lorelai glanced up at him.

"Hi. Did I wake you?" She shook her head.

"No, I was already awake. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"You and me and us." Luke smiled.

"I like the sound of that. Us."

"Yeah, I like it, too." She yawned and stretched. "Hey, what time is it?"

"4:30," he said. She sat up.

"Oh, I need to go. Today's the last day of the test run." Luke raised his eyebrows.

"Lorelai Gilmore up before daylight?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just want things to go perfectly."

"I know." He paused. "Well, let's get dressed and I'll walk you over there."

"Really? You're going to walk me through town?"

"Hey, I know how to see a lady home in style." Lorelai giggled as she pulled her clothes on.

"You know, if we walk home together, someone might see us."

"It's 4:30."

"Yeah, well, God knows what time Taylor wakes up. And I live next door to Babette. She'll have it all over town in seconds. Although, she is staying at the inn, so it wouldn't really be a problem right now."

"Does that bother you? Everyone knowing, I mean?"

"No. I mean, I'm not giddy about everyone discussing my love life, but I can deal. What about you? I know that you don't particularly enjoy gossip about you. Can you handle it?"

"I can. We don't need to broadcast our news to everyone, but I don't want to hide, either. When people find out, they find out and we'll deal with it." Lorelai smiled.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Let's go."

"Can I put some clothes on first?" Lorelai considered it for a moment.

"Well, okay. Patty and Babette don't need to get any ideas."

Luke and Lorelai walked to her house in silence. When they got to her house, she turned to him. "Well, you got me home safely, huh?"

"Stars Hollow is a regular hot bed of criminal activity. I had to keep my woman safe." She grinned.

"Your woman?" He nodded.

"Yeah, my woman."

"Normally, I wouldn't allow a guy to use that phrase with me, but I let it go this time."

"Thank you." Luke wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her to him, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. As he pulled away, Lorelai grabbed his head and kept his lips on hers.

Luke groaned. "God, I'm not going to want to go."

"Good," she whispered against his lips.

"You have the inn."

"I know." She continued to kiss him until he pushed himself away.

"Okay, I gotta go. I'll see you later." He waved and jogged away. Lorelai leaned against her door and smiled after him. She walked into her house and went into the kitchen to make coffee, grinning the whole time.

"God, Mom. Do you have fun?" Rory asked, yawning.

"Oh, sorry, babe. Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, it's no big deal. So, did you have fun?" Lorelai smiled.

"Yeah, I did." Rory groaned.

"You've got it bad."

"I guess I do. But anyway, we'll talk about that later. How are you doing?"

"All right. I feel so stupid. What was I thinking? Why did I do that?"

"I-"

"I wasn't asking for an answer, Mom." Rory sighed. "But- I don't know. Anyway, why are you up so early?"

"I need to get back to the inn, making sure that everyone leaves without Michel offending them."

"Good Luck."

"Thanks. I'll need it. Are you going to come this morning?"

"Uh, I don't think so. Just tell everyone I'm sick."

"Are you sure?" Rory nodded.

"I'm sure. I'll come by once everyone's left. I just can't deal with them right now."

"Okay, bye." Lorelai kissed her forehead.

"Bye."

"Lorelai, I trust you'll take these suggestions under consideration."

"Oh, absolutely, Taylor," Lorelai said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Well, good. This is a good place you've got here. With my proposals, you could end up with a fabulous inn." She nodded.

"Thanks a lot, Taylor. I'll see you."

"Good-bye, Lorelai." He walked out of the inn and Babette came up to her.

"Sugar, I have to tell you. This place is great. Really, I mean it."

"Thanks, Babette. I'm glad you could make it."

"No problem. So listen, what happened between you and that guy in the suit? He seemed awfully determined, but I haven't seen him since," Babette said, obviously looking for gossip.

"Oh, well, that's over."

"Yeah, I kind of figured, what with Luke and everything."

"What? What about Luke?"

"Oh, you know, those looks you two were giving each other at dinner the other night. Plus, Luke was grilling me about your guy."

"Babette-"

"You don't have to tell me, I know. You two are just friends … for now. Bye, sugar."

"Good-bye, Babette." Lorelai sighed. "Wow."

"Wow what?" Lorelai turned around.

"Hey, Sookie. I was just thinking about this weekend. We actually pulled it off."

"Yeah, now we just need to open it for real and not a test run."

"We can do it. If we can handle Taylor Dosey, we can handle anyone."

"Good point." The two of them sat down next to the front desk. "So, where were you last night?"

"Rory-Rory needed me to come home last night."

"Yeah, I know that. But I called and you weren't there. Rory said you were out. I was just wondering what you were doing."

"Did you need something? Was there something wrong? You could have called my cell?"

"No, No. It was no big deal. Why are you being so secretive?" Lorelai sighed.

"I don't want you to think I was keeping this from you. I haven't told anyone, except Rory. And it kind of just happened."

"What?"

"Me and Luke."

"You and Luke? What about you and- You and Luke! Oh, my God."

"Shh. Sookie!"

"Okay, I'm sorry. This is just fantastic! When did it happen? How- What happened?"

"Well, the first night of the test run-" Sookie gasped.

"OH! You guys were staring each other during dinner."

"How could you possibly know that? You were in the kitchen all night."

"Jackson told me."

"How'd he know? Oh, wait. Never mind. This is Stars Hollow. Anyway, Jason showed up and Luke thought that we were back together and he got mad. We had an argument and then … He kissed me."

"Luke kissed you?"

"Luke kissed me. I swear, Sookie, it was unbelievable. Then, last night, I went over to his place for a late dinner and we…"

"Wow, sweetie. Don't you think you're moving a little bit fast?"

"Maybe, but it feels right. I want to be with him."

"Great. I always knew Luke had a thing for you."

"I know, I know."

"So, did Luke leave his hat on?"

"Sookie!"

"What? I always wondered about that."

"That is personal and I'm not answering it."

"Oh, fine. What-"

"Ladies, I'm so sorry to interrupt this gab session, but we do have some business to discuss. Unless the inn is less important than your gossip."

"Michel, the inn is important. Sit down and let's talk about any complaints people had."

Lorelai walked into the diner a few hours later. She sat down at the counter and waited for Luke to see her. He dropped off a plate of hamburgers and grinned when he turned around and saw Lorelai waiting for him.

"Hi."

"Hi." He reached for her hand, but she pulled it away.

"You sure you want to do that?" She glanced around at the other customers.

"I guess you're right. So, how'd things go this morning?" She smiled.

"Pretty good. Taylor, of course, had about 60 complaints."

"That's to be expected. How's Rory?"

"Better, I think. She called me at the inn and said she'd meet me here for lunch."

"Really?"

"I think she's sick of the house. Plus, there's not really any chance of Dean showing up here."

"Good point." Luke looked around quickly to make sure that no one was listening. "So, I've been thinking about our first date."

"I thought we had our first date last night."

"I meant out in public, at a restaurant or something."

"Oh, well, you know, the inn opens officially in two days so I don't really have time- I mean, I've got to-"

"I know, that's why I wanted to wait about a week."

"A week?"

"Yeah, a week after the inn officially opens. It could be a little celebratory thing."

"I like that. A week after the inn opens, we'll have our first date." She paused. "Does that mean we have to wait a week to have sex again?"

"Lorelai!"

"I'm just saying, a week is a long time."

"Yeah, we have to wait week."

"Luke," she practically whined.

"Come on, we waited ten years for the first time, I'm sure we can wait a week. Possibly."

"Please-"

"Oh, look. There's Rory. I'll go get you guys some coffee." Rory came and sat next to Lorelai.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, how are you doing?"

"Good. Seeing the daylight actually made me feel better. And I talked to Lane."

"That's good. How is she?"

"The band's got some sort of week long job in New Jersey. She's so excited."

"I'll bet." Luke came over with some coffee.

"Hi, Rory. You want some coffee?"

"Always. I'd also like some chili fries." He nodded at Lorelai.

"And what do you want to clog you arteries with?"

"A hamburger and fries. And cherry pie."

"Excellent idea. I want some cherry pie, too."

"I'd better get out of here before you two find something else to kill yourselves with." Luke walked away and Lorelai and Rory giggle.


	4. Four

Part 4

"Lorelai, I've got a delivery for you." She looked up and saw a huge bouquet of daisies.

"Wow, Kirk, who are they from?" Kirk shook his head.

"I don't know. Whoever it was stuck the card in himself and threatened to pound anyone who talked about the flowers." She nodded.

"Oh, well, thanks for the delivery, Kirk."

"No, problem." Lorelai pulled the card out of flowers and read.

"Lorelai- I guess the stat is two now. I know this is a special day for you and I just wanted you to know that I'm so proud of you. I always knew you could do it. This is such an exciting day for you and I'm happy that I can be apart of it. I'll see you later tonight. -Luke.

P.S. Only a week until we can have sex again. I'm really starting to regret this." Lorelai giggled.

"Lorelai, I just came to say congratulations about the inn opening. Who gave you the flowers?" Miss Patty asked.

"Uh, my parents."

"That's nice."

"Yeah, it is. I'd better go put this in my office." Lorelai picked the flowers up and walked away, not noticing the card falling on the floor. Miss Patty waited until she was gone and picked it up and read the card.

"Wow!" She walked out of the inn and dialed on her cell phone. "Babette! I've got big news. You won't believe what I've just found out! Lorelai and Luke are together." She continued the conversation as she walked back into town.

Luke tapped his fingers impatiently on his counter. Lane was supposed to get here soon so that he could leave. He wanted to go and see how Lorelai was doing, but he couldn't leave the diner unattended. He groaned when he saw Kirk enter the diner. He definitely did not have the patience to deal with him right now.

"Luke! I need to talk to you."

"I'm sorry, Kirk, but I don't really have time to talk right now. I'm getting ready to leave."

"No, this can't wait. I thought we were best friends, how could you not tell me about this?"

"Tell you what? And since when are we best friends?" Luke asked, looking bewildered.

"I told you about Lulu and my night terrors, but you didn't tell me about Lorelai?"

"What about Lorelai?"

"Don't play dumb. I know you two are sleeping together." Luke grabbed Kirk's shirt and yanked him close.

"Where did you here that?"

"I-"

"Who the hell told you and what business is it of yours anyway?"

"Andrew told me. Please let me go."

"How did he find out?"

"I don't know; he didn't say. Please let me go." Luke sighed deeply and shoved Kirk away from him. Kirk ran out of the diner as fast as he could. "Oh, shit," Luke said as Bootsy walked in.

"Well, well, Luke. I understand you've been busy."

"Get out."

"Aw, come on, Luke. Everyone knows you've had a thing for Lorelai for years. It surprising that she actually went for you, of course, but hey, stranger things have happened. I'm just-"

"You really need to get away from me, Bootsy."

"Luke-"

"Get out before I hurt you." Andrew came in snapping pictures. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm taking pictures for the Stars Hollow Gazette. They also want pictures of the happy couple together so can you and Lorelai arrange a time-?

"Get out!" Luke roared. Andrew left, bumping into Lane on her way in. "Good you're here. I've got to go, Lane." He practically ran out of the diner.

"What was that about?" Lane asked, confused.

"You haven't heard about Luke and Lorelai? Let me tell you." Bootsy told Lane everything he had heard.

Lorelai looked over the inn's guest book. They had a pretty good turn out for the first day. Lorelai heard a noise and looked up to see Babette walking in. "Lorelai, sweetie. I'm so happy for you!"

"Oh, thanks, Babette, but the inn just opened. It's a little soon to call it a success."

"Oh, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about Luke." Lorelai paled.

"Luke? What?"

"Oh, don't pretend. It's all over town. You and Luke had sex for the past week at night in the gazebo."

"What? We didn't-"

"Don't try to deny it. Miss Patty saw you guys."

"No, she didn't!"

"Lorelai!" Luke interrupted the conversation.

"Luke! I'm so happy to see you. Look at the happy couple."

"Yeah, yeah, it's great. Listen, I need to talk to Lorelai alone." Luke and Lorelai left the room and went into Lorelai's office.

"Oh, my God. What the hell happened?" Luke asked as he started pacing around the room.

"Well, I **think** everyone found out about us."

"This is not funny, Lorelai. The whole town's talking about us having sex on every table in the diner."

"I thought we had sex in the gazebo." Luke rolled his eyes.

"Look, what are we going to do? And take this seriously. I don't want to hear any talk about us going and making all the rumors true."

"That's a good idea."

"Lorelai!"

"Hey, this situation is a little funny. Think about it. The whole town is talking about our sex life. Doesn't that make you laugh a little?"

"No."

"Oh, come on. Not even a little bit?" Luke shook his head.

"Nope." Lorelai walked over to him and wrapped her arms around.

"Not at all?"

"Well, maybe a little." He smiled and kissed her.

"See, we can a deal with this," she said as she deepened the kiss. All of a sudden the door opened and Andrew came in.

"Oh, this is perfect," he said, snapping a picture. "This is exactly the kind of picture I needed. This will be great."

"Get out before I break your camera, Andrew!" Luke pushed him out the door and slammed it. "Oh, God. Look at our life."

"Luke, think about it. It would have come out eventually. At least we didn't have to tell everyone."

"I guess you're right. I'd still like to know how everyone found out about it, though."

"Who knows? It really doesn't matter. Someone could have seen us kiss that night or walking home. It'd be impossible to figure out."

"Yeah. Hey, did you get the flowers I sent?" Lorelai smiled.

"Yes, I did. Thank you." Luke smiled back.

"No problem. Did you like the card?"

"Oh, yeah. In fact, I think I want you to read it me."

"Lorelai-"

"Well, you wrote it. Why can't you read it?" He sighed.

"You're not going to drop this, are you?"

"You know, I don't think I will."

"Fine, give it to me."

"Dirty!"

"Oh, God." Lorelai looked through the flowers for the card.

"It's not here." Luke walked over to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's missing."

"It was here earlier, right?"

"Yeah, I read it."

"So, where'd it go?"

"I don't know. It must have fallen out."

"And I bet someone found the card-"

"And spread all around that we were dating."

"Well, at least we know how everyone found out."

"That card was personal. I didn't want everyone knowing about it."

"Hey, everyone knows what a softy you are. That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"No, it's not a good thing." Lorelai kissed him again. "Well, maybe it's an okay thing."


End file.
